OBJECT LESSONS: Architecture & Design News

Foster + Partners’ Exterior Changes to New York Public Library Approved

In a six-to-two vote this past Tuesday, New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the New York Public Library’s application to change the exterior of its landmark Beaux-Arts main library building, green-lighting one part of the controversial $300-million renovation scheme led by Foster + Partners.

While the news may upset critics and preservationists who have protested the renovation for some time now, the approval is still no guarantee that all will go according to Norman Foster’s plan. The application to make room for Foster’s proposal by removing seven floors of stacks — which critics such as Ada Louise Huxtable have proclaimed as extraordinary feats of engineering that are elemental to the original design — has yet to be reviewed.

Image: Rendering of the Foster + Partners-designed atrium proposed for The New York Public Library, courtesy the architects.